Snoop Dogg is going back to the beginning. November 2023 will mark 30 years since Snoop’s debut album, Doggystyle, released via Death Row Records, and it seems that Snoop has plans to commemorate the anniversary. The West Coast rap icon disclosed to Stephen A. Smith on the September 30 episode of his K(no)w Mercy podcast that he’s been in the studio with Dr. Dre.
“You’re the first one to hear this,” Snoop told Stephen A. around the 34:30-mark. “Me and Dr. Dre been working on an album for the past two months, and it’ll be done in November. And it’s produced by Dr. Dre. It’s our 30th anniversary to Doggystyle. And the name of the album is Missionary.”
When asked why the album is called Missionary, Snoop simply said, “The first album was Doggystyle.”
Leading up to that big reveal, Stephen A. asked Snoop a general question about the origin and evolution of his relationship with Dre. Snoop responded:
“That’s crazy because Warren G walked me to Dr. Dre. Warren G is Dre’s half-brother through marriage, so Warren G would always feel like I needed to be with Dre. Even when they was in their N.W.A. heyday and I was young, he would always press the issue. Once he gave Dre the music, and Dre loved the music, we began working.
And then it became a certain point in time where Dre was like, ‘I need you to to come with me,’ and then we would hang out together. Then, we would ride together. We would go on missions. This is before we was married. … If there was two females, they was definitely friends [and] stayed in the same apartment building, we’d ride out there to see them. He go his way, I go my way, we meet back up, jump in the car, slap a tape in, listen to music — inspired, we go back to the studio, and make a song.
So, our bond became — he had just left N.W.A. So I felt like he was looking for a brother, but I wasn’t a big brother. Someone who could outweigh him. I was somebody that was a humbling soldier that was ready to learn, and at the same time, I was down for the get down. That was my penmanship, my eagerness to get out there and to write for him. Remember, the first record was about him. I was all about writing for him. … To make him ultimate star because we believed in him like he believed in us. I believe that our relationship became family because he seen my work ethic for him.”
Snoop isn’t the only one steadfast in his loyalty to Dre. This February’s Super Bowl LVI halftime show featured Dre alongside Snoop, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and even Anderson .Paak. The captivating performance won three Emmys last month. In August, speculation began that something new was up after Dre, Em, and Snoop were spotted in the studio together.
Snoop acquired Death Row Records in February and reclaimed ownership of his Doggystyle and The Doggfather masters. He then shared that removed several Death Row albums from streaming services “because those platforms don’t pay” during an April appearance on Drink Champs. “What I wanted to do is snatch my music off, create a platform similar to Amazon, Netflix, Hulu. It’ll be a Death Row app, and the music, in the meantime, will live in the metaverse,” he added.
When and where Missionary becomes available is yet to be seen, but until then, the possibilities of what it could entail will live rent free in our heads.